


It's Just That No One Makes Me Feel This Way

by cristina_lore



Series: Leandro Antonio Carlos Espinosa Fuentes & Sexy Back [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: But I thought I should tag klance just in case, But also, But really this is mostly fluff, Canon Compliant, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff and Angst, Gen, It's really just the bit near the end, Male Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Possibly Pre-Slash, Pre-Canon, When it's from Hunk and Lance's pov at the Garrison, You could totally read it as platonic, a smidgen of angst, i guess lol, just want to make that clear, nothing major
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 01:32:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15570795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cristina_lore/pseuds/cristina_lore
Summary: Lance Fuentes' life has always gone through a lot of changes. But through it all, there is one constant: the song "Sexy Back."Or:I find it hard to believe that Lance's given name is so Americanized while his siblings' names are Marco, Veronica, and Luis. Also apparently his favorite song is "Sexy Back."





	It's Just That No One Makes Me Feel This Way

**Author's Note:**

> Just some details about this fic that aren't explicitly stated in the story:
> 
> \- The world is as it is in the show, which the creators have stated is a world in which there are open borders and everyone travels everywhere whenever they please.  
>   
> \- Lance and his family all live in Cuba.  
>   
> \- My headcanon is that Lance's grandparents moved to the U.S. from Cuba because they both went to college there and wound up staying. They had Lance's father, and he met Lance's mother when she went to the U.S. on a month long vacation with some friends. They started dating, and went long distance when she went back to Cuba. Eventually he moved to Cuba to marry her.  
>   
> \- Lance's mother's name is Barbara, which means foreigner, which I thought was funny because she was a foreigner in the U.S. when she met her husband, who became the foreigner when he moved to Cuba.  
>   
> \- Lance speaks to his family the way I speak to mine: with a mix of Spanish and English. In my family though, both my parents were born in Mexico, then came to the U.S. and had my sister and I, so the split between languages ends up being 60/40 in favor of Spanish. I headcanon that Lance's father grew up this way as well. Lance, being the child of someone like me and someone like my parents (who speak mostly Spanish but have a fair grasp of English), probably ends up favoring English. That's why most of the fic is in English, though there is a fair bit of Spanish in there.
> 
> Now that you know all this, I hope you enjoy the fic! Please comment, I live for feedback.

"I'm bringin' sexy back; them other boys don't know how to act; I think it's special what's behind your back..."

  
  
Barbara tried to keep a straight face as her husband Leandro swung their youngest around the kitchen to the rhythm of his words. She felt like she should say that it was much too early for this nonsense, but she'd be lying. Yes, the sky had just barely turned a clear blue, but Leandro's antics were for any time, any place. Especially when it concerned the song he had serenaded her with on their second date.   


  
The six year old boy - named after his father - giggled and tried to imitate the ridiculous amount of hip wiggling that Leandro showed off. The words to the song were lost on him, though his father made sure to simply hum the more racy parts.   


  
"Get your sexy on."   


  
"Go ahead be gone with it."   


  
Barbara's eyes widened. "Leandro!"   


  
Two pairs of blue eyes twinkled at her mischievously as one deep voice answered with her name and the other, higher voice responded with "Mami!"   


  
The two of them giggled while she rolled her eyes and continued on with her not-really-a-reprimand. "¿Le enseñaste la canción?"   


  
"Claro que no, mi vida, you worry too much. It was just that part, I promise." He dramatically rushed over and knelt before her, taking her hands in his. "Te lo juro, ¡mi cielo, mi amor!"   


  
She swatted him away but allowed him to pull her into a brief kiss once he stood, ignoring the raspberry their son blew at the sight.   


  
"It was a call and response sort of thing," Leandro continued. "Admit it, you were charmed!"   


  
"Cállate con tu 'charmed'," she muttered, albeit with a small smile on her face. Leandro simply laughed, a bright sound echoed by their son, and picked up the boy, settling him on top of his shoulders.   


  
"Girl let me make up for the things you lack, cause you're burnin' up, I gotta get it fast..." Leandro smirked.   


  
"Take 'em to the bridge!" Leandro Antonio imitated the smirk as his mother raised her eyebrows.   


  
"Just that part, huh?"   


  
The two boys - and yes, they were definitely  _ both _ boys; why were men such children? - simply winked at her and carried on.

 

_______________

 

"I want to be called Lance now."   


  
Barbara stared at her youngest child, all of almost-thirteen years old, in his slightly ill-fitting black suit. She almost yelled at him, for having the audacity to say such a thing  _ right after they had gotten home from Leandro's funeral _ , but managed to bite the scream back. Leandro Antonio was a bit of a hellion, a little spoiled, and prone to dramatics, but he was a sweet, sensitive boy. He wouldn't say something like this if he didn't have a good reason for it.   


  
He bit his lip and inhaled tremulously, eyes watering. Immediately, Barbara gently pushed him from the living room to the kitchen, intent on making him a cup of soothing hot chocolate.   


  
He sat at one of the chairs and waited silently as she worked. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him staring down at the table, hands fidgeting and one leg bouncing.    


  
After what felt like an eternity of tense, sad silence, Barbara was finally able to sit down, handing her son one mug of chocolate while she warmed her hands on another. Funny, she had never really needed to warm her hands until recently. She mulled over this briefly before realizing that she could remember a childhood and young adulthood lived with cold hands and rueful smiles over the fact, until she had started seriously dating Leandro. A dull ache grew in her chest at the thought that she'd have to relearn how to live without a human heater who always loved to hold her hands.   


  
A deep inhale and exhale broke her away from her thoughts, and she quickly looked up to see her sweet boy with a determined look on his face. She took one of his hands - warm in comparison to hers but no where near actual warmth, she noticed, a surge of commiserative sympathy rising within her - and squeezed lightly, encouraging him to speak.    


  
He rushed to do so, stumbling over his words in his hurry.   


  
"Es que - nomás - I - It’s just so  _ fu _ -"    


  
She interrupted in a deceptively mild tone. "¿Que dices?"   


  
He blushed a little before decisively saying, "Fettuccine."   


  
"Fettuccine?"   


  
"Yes, Mami,  _ fettuccine _ ," he insisted. "It’s messy and weird and...and..."    


  
"I think I get it, mijo," she said, fighting back laughter.   


  
"Oh thank God."   


  
Barbara let the laugh go free, then grew solemn once again, waiting for an actual explanation. Though she had a feeling she already knew what it was.   


  
"Ya no me quiero llamar Leandro. Se que siempre va ser mi nombre, pero ya no lo puedo oír asi. Me...me pone triste, y ya no quiero llorar..." He trailed off and took a fortifying gulp of his beverage before continuing. "Además, tal vez me va mejor en los Estados Unidos si tengo nombre más americano." He tried to smile at her, only half succeeding.   


  
Barbara stood up suddenly and walked over to pull him into a hug. She couldn't begrudge him this. He was just trying to cope in his own way, and she wasn't going to force him to search for another metaphorical life raft. The fact that he had attempted to lighten the mood by bringing up his dream to go to that American school only highlighted that maybe all she could do, all she  _ should _ do, was accept this name change. She did have one question though...   


  
She pulled back and said, "Está bien.  _ Lance _ . Está bien, Lance. ¿Pero porque ese nombre?"   


  
This time a smile that closely resembled his old megawatt one lit up his face, and he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. He handed it to her and she studied it, nearly sobbing right then and there. She should have known her wonderful son would never truly try to forget his name.   


  
**L** eandro   
**AN** tonio    
**C** arlos   
**E** spinosa   


  
Soft humming broke her out of her reverie. She smiled once she recognized the song and joined in, keeping one arm around Lance.   


  
No, Leandro would not be forgotten.

 

_______________

 

Three figures moved quietly through the hallways of the Garrison, creeping carefully around corners so as not to be seen by any superior officers. 

 

Quietly, but not completely silently.

 

“Lance  _ can you not _ . I get that you have weird celebrity crushes on some of the officers -”

 

“Pidge!” Even as a whisper, Lance’s voice was just a tad too loud, as evidenced by the fact that his two companions immediately shushed him.

 

Pidge smirked. “Are you really going to try to tell me you  _ don’t _ have the hots for anyone who could pull rank on you?”

 

Lance’s blush made his face appear almost lavender in the dim light, and Pidge’s smirk transformed into something more along the lines of ‘evil grin.’

 

“It’s not like that, ok?”

 

An eyebrow raise was his only response.

 

“Whatever,” he muttered. 

 

A brief pause followed, in which the third party of their trio visibly relaxed, clearly thinking this was the end of the conversation. It’s not like Hunk  _ wanted _ to sneak out, but if he was going to be dragged along for the ride, he definitely didn’t want to be caught. All too soon though, Pidge broke the silence.

 

“So wait, do you still expect me to think that you don’t want to be caught as part of some weird kink fantasy? ”

 

Lance groaned as Hunk held back an anxious whimper.

 

“First of all, Gunderson, so much for keeping quiet. Second of all, if I had a weird kink fantasy, you wouldn’t be part of it. Maybe Hunk would, but not you. Stop laughing, escuincle. And third of all, I don’t know why you even started to shush me in the first place. I was quiet as a mouse!”

 

“A squeaking mouse, maybe.”

 

At this point, the three had made it outside the building, making sure to stick close to the walls until they reached the ramp that led to freedom. Lance let himself reach speaking volume.

 

“I do not squeak! Hunk, tell him I do not squeak!”

 

“Can we do this later? You know, when we’re away from the school?”

 

“Fine.”

 

A few minutes - and one close call where an officer (who Lance was definitely  _ not _ ogling, thank you very much) walked right past them - the three of them ran down the ramp and onto the road. They kept running for a few minutes just to be safe, then slowed to a nice walk. Pizza, here they came.

 

Hunk spoke up after a few seconds. “You don’t squeak.”

 

Lance responded with an eloquent, “Huh?”

 

Hunk breathed out a chuckle. “You don’t squeak, bro. BUT. You’re never exactly silent. And you definitely weren’t when we were sneaking out of the halls.”

 

“What do you mean, I was as silent as a - as a ninja!”

 

Pidge snorted. “Ninja, my ass. You were humming pretty much the entire time.”

 

“I was not!”

 

“Yeah bro, you were. It wasn’t that loud, sure, but you were.”

 

Lance fell silent, a weird feeling settling in his stomach and chest. He finally asked, in a subdued tone, “What was I humming?”

 

Hunk cleared his throat, exchanging a look with Pidge. Or well, he tried to. Pidge was busy looking at their surroundings, but he could tell that he was still listening to the conversation. This was evidenced by his response to Hunk’s admission of “I don’t really know, dude, to be honest.”

 

“Sexy Back. You were humming Sexy Back.”

 

“Oh.”

 

The rest of the walk to the one pizza place in town was spent in silence, only interrupted by brief bouts of Lance’s humming before he caught himself each time.

 

_______________

 

“This is an intervention.”

 

Lance sat up from his position on his bed. “Pidge! What are you doing in here?!”

 

“You said I could, and should, come by your room on the weekends.”

 

“Yeah, but you never have!”

 

“Well, clearly I am now,” Pidge said, sitting on the edge of Lance’s bed.

 

“You couldn’t  _ knock _ ?!”

 

“Like there’s even much to see.”

 

“ _ Like there’s even much to - _ ”

 

“Guys, please. It’s the weekend. Save the yelling for the simulators.”

 

Both Pidge and Lance deflated, muttering “Sorry, Hunk.” 

 

“Apology accepted.” Hunk went back to scribbling in a notebook at his desk, though he had a feeling he wouldn’t be getting much work done now that Pidge was here.

 

“So I ask again, Gunderson, what brings you here?”

 

Pidge perked up. “An intervention!” A beaming smile followed this proclamation, as if that had cleared things up.

 

“An intervention for what? For  _ who _ ?”

 

Pidge merely gazed at Lance. The boy in question spluttered.

 

“ _ Me _ ?! Why do I need an intervention?”

 

“Because, you big dork, you haven’t been as annoying -”

 

“ _ Excuse me?! _ ”

 

Pidge continued on blithely. “ - As annoying as you usually are. And it started ever since we went to get pizza a few nights ago. So spill.”

 

“Wow Pidge. Such care. Much feeling.”

 

Hunk stifled a giggle as Pidge stared flatly at Lance, who only smirked smugly. The smirk transformed into a laugh when Pidge leaned closer to flick him on the forehead, eyes rolling dramatically. Lance flopped down, clearly not intent on saying anything more.

 

Hunk closed his notebook and set it aside. No way was he getting any work done now. He walked over to the other two and made himself comfortable on Lance’s free side, nudging him once he was settled in.

 

“He’s right, buddy. You’ve been off since that night. What’s up?”

 

Lance let out a groan. “You’re not letting up until you get an answer are you?”

 

“Nope,” Hunk replied, popping the p sound.

 

“Besides, if you really didn’t want to talk about it, you’d already have been outta here,” Pidge pointed out.

 

“Stop calling me out,” Lance muttered, before heaving a huge sigh. His two companions didn’t comment, waiting for him to stop stalling.

 

“It’s not that serious, if I’m being honest. Or, well, it’s a little serious, but it could be worse. So much worse, like I could have a stalker or be in witness protection or maybe someone could’ve sent me a death threat - I don’t know. It could be a lot worse. Like coma-levels worse. Like reality isn’t actually real type of -”

 

“Lance,” the other two said simultaneously.

 

“Right, right, getting off track. So. You know that song I was humming? Sexy Back?”

 

Hunk and Pidge nodded, only to see that Lance had his eyes closed. They responded verbally this time.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Mmhmm.”

 

“It was...my dad’s favorite song. He used to sing it or hum it all the time.”

 

Hunk’s eyes widened, finally understanding. Pidge, on the other hand, was still confused.

 

Lance took a breath. “Uh...well, Hunk already knows, but - my dad died when I was twelve.” 

 

Pidge swallowed thickly. “Oh.”

 

Lance exhaled a short laugh. “Yeah. Like I said. It’s a little serious, but it happened like, three years ago. I’m mostly over it. Kind of.”

 

Pidge patted his arm awkwardly, not sure what to say. Her own father and brother were missing, and even though people kept insisting they were dead, she wouldn’t rest until she found them. She didn’t know what she would do if it turned out they actually were dead. Probably not handle it as well as Lance seemed to, no matter how much time passed.

“Yeah, so. That was his favorite song. My mom’s too - well, one of her favorite songs. There’s a whole story behind it. So now it’s my favorite too. I guess sometimes I hum it without thinking or noticing. Sorry.” There was a slight hitch in his breath, and his eyes, previously lightly closed, were now shut tightly.

 

“Aw buddy, it’s ok. There’s nothing to be sorry for. We were just worried about you,” Hunk said, sitting up straight on the bed and tugging Lance up. “Come on, up, up.”

 

Lance let himself be pulled up and subsequently pulled into his best friend’s gentle arms. He had the fleeting thought that Hunk’s arms were the best place to be in the world, and that he should conduct a study to prove his theory. First test subject: Pidge. The weirdo was still sitting on the edge of Lance’s bed, at turns looking at them and then looking at anything  _ but _ them. The guy needed to chill.

 

“You’re going to be part of this hug too, Gunderson. Get in here,” Lance said.

 

Pidge blinked at him awkwardly (who knew it was possible to do that) and said, “Uh…”

 

Hunk butted in. “No, no excuses, come on dude.” He extended one arm, beckoning.

 

“Oh all right. But only because you guys are making me.”Pidge crawled over to them and snuggled into Hunk’s embrace, bringing up a hand to rub Lance’s back.

 

Lance stifled a laugh. No use in making fun of Pidge now; teasing him would probably propel him out of the room faster than he could say, “Holy mackerel.”

 

The next time Pidge and Hunk heard “Sexy Back,” it was the next day and it was because Lance was jumping around his room, singing the song at the top of his lungs and playfully pointing to them during the more “entertaining” parts. 

 

(“It’s not entertaining, Lance, it’s disturbing.”

 

“Yeah, that’s totally why I could see those pearly whites from Mars.”

 

“I’m baring my teeth at you. In a  _ snarl _ .”

 

“Settle down, children. Besides, Pidge is right. It’s not entertaining. It’s  _ titillating _ .” A waggle of eyebrows.

 

“Ooh baby, you know you’re the only one for me.”

 

“Ugh.”)

 

_______________

 

On a Sunday afternoon a little while after Lance’s fifteenth birthday, Lance sat at his desk, started up his laptop, and waited. Not a minute later, he received a Skype call from his mother. This in itself was not unusual, seeing as Sunday afternoons were their agreed upon chat time. So Lance answered the call, expecting nothing out of the ordinary.

 

He gave his mother his usual lively updates for the week, explaining his adventures with Hunk with wild gestures, dreamily recounting the reactions from people he had flirted with, then pouting (yet again) about Keith, who got to hang out with  _ Takashi Shirogane and Adam Navata and never gives a hoot about anyone else, ugh he’s so uppity, Mami; y le encanta que siempre agarra mejores calificaciones que yo. _

 

As always, she laughed at his jokes and smiled sympathetically when he told her about his troubles. As she did every so often, she gently reminded him that he was used to being the center of attention, that he was at a big school where no one could really be the darling at all times, and that maybe Keith wouldn’t be so bad once he got to know him. 

 

“Trata de hablar con el, mijo. No pelear, nomas dile ‘hola’ de vez en cuando. No todos van a ser como Hunk. Unos necesitan un poco más trabajo. Se que tu lo puedes hacer.”

 

And, as he always did on the occasions his mother decided to encourage him this way, Lance pouted and said, “Si, Mami.” They both knew he wouldn’t; Lance was incredibly stubborn, and also used to getting his way. But seeing as Lance wasn’t particularly violent or cruel, his mother always decided to let it slide. As long as he stayed out of trouble, did well at school, and was generally happy, what did the rest matter?

 

At this point, Barbara would usually have already started talking about what she was doing back home and what she had heard from Marco; or, if something noteworthy had happened with an extended family member, relaying all the gossip.

 

This time, she remained silent, fiddling with her fingers.

 

“Mami? What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing, mijo, nothing. I just need to tell you something, and I want you to stay calm. Can you do that for me?”

 

Brows furrowed in worry, Lance nodded. “Si.”

 

His mother took a deep breath. “I’m going to start dating again.”

 

Lance stared. Opened his mouth. Closed it. Stared some more.

 

His mother’s face, already set in a patient and gentle expression, somehow softened even more. 

 

“Ay, mijo.” She reached out as if she could take his hands, laying her own right in front of her own laptop, palms up, fingernails touching the screen. Instinctively, he followed her example, only he let his palms face down and let his knuckles graze his screen: a weak, yet still comforting, parody of a hand hold.

 

“Tu papa y yo...éramos similar. Los dos fuimos hechos por amar y ser amados, en cualquier forma que podíamos encontrar ese amor. Siempre voy a amar a tu padre. El era un hombre inolvidable. Y creo que el quisiera que yo encontrara el amor otra vez.”

 

After several fits and starts, Lance was able to speak. “Tu lo mereces todo, Mami. Si tu crees que ir a citas con otra gente te va a hacer feliz, lo deberías hacer. Nomas es un poco raro para mi. Pero no dejes que eso te pare.”

 

Barbara smiled, relieved. It wasn’t that she expected her son to be angry or upset - he was a bit of a mama’s boy and would do anything to see her happy - but she knew that to a child who had grown up in a loving two parent home, it was hard to imagine one of those parents moving on to someone whom they had never known. She was glad he was taking the news with all the maturity he could muster.

 

“Además, tu te acostumbraste cuando te pedí que me llamaras Lance. Yo tambien lo hare.” 

 

Barbara smiled. “Si mijo. Te quiero mucho.”

 

“Yo tambien. Just - just make sure they like ‘Sexy Back.’ Even if it’s only a little bit.”

 

“It’s already a requirement. I promise.” Though their tones of voice came off as joking, they both knew it was a very special promise, one that wouldn’t be broken.

 

They remained silent and thoughtful for a while. Then Lance said, with a small smile, “But yeah, you should get started. It’s not like you’re getting any younger.”

 

“ _ Lance Fuentes _ !”

 

Everything would be okay.

 

_______________

 

The memory of the discussion of his mother’s new foray into the dating scene hit Lance almost two years later, when his mother opened their weekly chat with the words, “There is something I need to tell you.”

 

“Did you -” he swallowed past a strange lump in his throat, “did you find someone - to love?” He blushed, fully aware that he sounded like he was trying to quote the lyrics of a song and therefore sounded all the more ridiculous for it.

 

It wasn’t that he had a problem with his mother dating. He had even met a few of the more serious partners, the ones who had made it past three dates, even though it was over Skype. But she had never sounded like this, like she did two years ago when she first told him she was going to start dating again - nervous, shy, a little uncomfortable but very sure in her decision. Instantly he knew that whoever this person turned out to be, they were likely to be a - albeit probably not too big - part of his life for the near future, and that - well that made him nervous. It would be like if Hunk and Pidge started bringing someone else along on all their adventures: he’d be happy just seeing them happy, and he’d try to get along with the new kid, but what if he didn’t like the new kid? What if the new kid was an okay person but they just had irreconcilable differences? 

 

...And now he was worried about any new potential friends his best friends might make. Great.

 

He brought himself out of his thoughts and looked at his mother, who was simply smiling at him indulgently, as if she knew he needed time to think after he asked his question. She probably did know. She was great that way.

 

Once she had his full attention again, she spoke. “Yes, I have - as you so eloquently put it - found somebody to love. Su nombre es Hermosa - y si, es bien hermosa. She’s absolutely beautiful; I almost don’t know what to do with myself.”

 

Lance laughed. “As if you don’t know you’re the most beautiful woman in the world. It’s why I’m the most beautiful boy.”

 

Barbara joined in on his laughter. “Ay si, como no.”

 

“Don’t be mean to your favorite child.” He grinned at her. “So what’s she like?”

 

“Ella es… she’s something else. A bundle of contradictions. She’s kind and compassionate, yet honest to a fault. Es muy paciente pero dice que se enoja fácilmente y que está tratando de controlar su temperamento. At first, es muy shy y reserved, pero cuando ya te conoce un poco mejor, nunca para de hablar. Le encanta salir a pasear. And...she was married before too. Ale, she called them. She said they died in a plane crash. I told her you were at a fancy school for pilots. She told me to tell you  _ que tengas mucho cuidado _ .”

 

Lance smiled sadly, inwardly marvelling at the irony that his mother’s new love had been hurt by the very thing he loved so dearly. “Tell her I say  _ que se lo prometo, como se lo prometí a mi familia. _ ”

 

Barbara smiled back. “I’ll be sure to pass on the message.”

 

In an attempt to lighten the mood, Lance waggled his eyebrows obnoxiously and asked, “So...how many dates have you been on?”

 

The attempt worked. “Now  _ that _ is none of your business, chismoso. Just know that there have been more than several.”

 

“You’re no fun.”

 

“Si, it is my job as your mother to be as boring as possible.”

 

They both smiled brightly at each other, feeding off of each other’s happiness.

 

“What I am willing to tell you is something very important that happened on our second date. Something I started doing on all my second dates.”

 

Lance’s look of curiosity slowly morphed into something knowing, but all the same, he waited for her to tell him what this very important thing was.

 

“I told her the story of the second date I had with your father. Full detail. The band made up of his friends, the over the top gestures, the dancing, everything. She thought it was brilliant, though she said she would have died of embarrassment if her second date had gone that way.”

 

“Brilliant," he said contemplatively. "I like that.”

 

Barbara laughed. “If I’m being honest, I don’t think I would still be with her if she didn’t think it was.” 

 

Lance nodded somberly. “As it should be.” Then he smiled. “ Did you tell her how we might burst into song at any moment?”

 

“Yes, and she said that she’d have to download ‘Sexy Back’ right away so that if she was ever invited to sing with us, she’d be ready.”

 

“That’s it; she’s a keeper, Mami,” he said, only half joking.

 

His mother responded completely seriously, “Yes, mijo, I really think she is.”

 

_______________

 

Lance was incredibly happy for his mother, overjoyed in fact. Hunk and Pidge could attest to that. But he also was a boy who, along with being used to getting what he wanted, was also prone to depression and felt almost wildly insecure about his abilities as a pilot. This resulted in him wanting to practice his skills as much as possible, which for him, meant that he did not take his month and a half of summer break. Instead, he went home for a month, celebrated his birthday with his family, and then three days later he was back at the Garrison, ready to kick the flight simulator’s ass.

 

Unfortunately, this meant that he did not get to meet Hermosa when his siblings did, seeing as she arrived for her visit to Barbara’s home a week and a half after he had gone back to school. And as much as he wanted to meet the woman who made his mother look gooey and delighted pretty much all the time, he also wanted to get the professors to stop comparing him to dumb Keith, whose skill was apparently so amazing that it had gained a life of its own and was haunting the teachers’ brains. Point being, he was sick of hearing how amazing Keith was or could’ve been, and so he vowed to blow everyone away with his prowess. Ergo, more training.

 

All this explained why he was seeing Marco, Veronica, Luis, and his mother’s faces on his laptop screen, when he was only expecting to see his mother for their weekly chat.

 

“Lance, oh my God, you missed it! How could you miss it?”

 

“Shut up Veronica. Lance, how could you miss this?”

 

“I literally said the same thing, mugroso.”

 

“Both of you calm down and let Mami talk.”

 

Luis and Veronica, being thoroughly unimpressed, imitated Marco in high pitched voices. “cAlM dOwN aNd lEt mAmI tAlK.”

 

Lance watched the conversation play out, cheek propped on his hand, and didn’t even bother to bite back his smile. He adored his family and their antics.

 

“Callense todos,” Barbara said, with a negligent wave of her hand. “This is my time with my youngest child; let me speak to him.”

 

“Yeah, I’m also her favorite child.”

 

“ _ Lance _ . I love all four of you equally.”

 

The three people with her laughed. 

 

“Ok Mami, sure, we believe you,” Marco said as Luis and Veronica proceeded to play up their laughter by shrieking and banging on the table respectively.

 

Lance grinned unrepentantly in the face of his mother’s now flat stare. She upped the ante and glared instead. He batted his eyelashes and watched in delight as Barbara rolled her eyes, giving up the - albeit weak - pretense of anger.

 

“Ok ok, that’s enough. I love you all equally and that’s the end of that discussion. Alright?”

 

“Si, Mami,” the four chorused obediently.

 

“Now tell your brother about Hermosa.”

 

Lance’s siblings all started speaking at once, shouting over each other, each one convinced they could tell the story of Hermosa’s visit best.

 

“...So then she says -”

 

“No, Marco, she laughed first -”

 

“Does it really matter?”

 

“Be accurate, old man. So then -”

 

“No I’m telling it -”

 

“Shut up, I like how Luis tells it better, though I -”

 

“Going to stop you right there.”

 

And then:

 

“Why were you even listening to that conversation?”

 

“It’s not like you were being scandalous, Mami -”

 

“I can’t believe you spied on them.”

 

“You were there too! Both of you!”

 

“You started it! But yeah, then she stuck out her tongue at Mami and -”

 

A few minutes later:

 

“So Hermosa is very worried about you now even though I  _ told _ her that you’re a responsible young man and we’re all very proud of you.”

 

“That wouldn’t help anyone, Veronica Estefani -”

 

“You can’t full name me! You’re not my mom!”

 

“I’m older than you.”

 

“Big whoop.”

 

And finally:

 

“Mami’s right, she’s super pretty.”

 

“She is but Luis totally has a crush on her.”

 

“I do not!’   
  


“Do too!”

 

“Do not! Marco help me!”

 

“You definitely do.”

 

“The nerve.”

 

Barbara laughed. “Ok, ya, ya. Ya se divirtieron portándose como niños, ya le contaron todo, ahora déjenme hablar con Lance por unos minutos.”

 

“Más bien unas  _ horas _ .”

 

“Fuera!”

 

“Bye Lance!”   
  


“Talk to you later, Lance!”

 

“Don’t die, Lance!”

 

Mother and son chuckled for a bit, then sat in a pleasant silence.

 

Lance cleared his throat. “Entonces les fue bien?”

 

Barbara smiled. “Si, muy bien. Lo único que necesitaba para ser perfecto es que tu estuvieras aqui.” She held up a hand when Lance opened his mouth. “Se que necesitabas entrenar más, y no te culpo por eso. Solo quiero que sepas que tu familia te quiere y siempre te extrañara; no importa por cuánto tiempo te vas o adonde vas.” 

 

Lance smiled. “Si, ya se. Yo tambien los quiero mucho y los extraño. And I do wish I could have met her.”

 

“Well maybe you’ll get a chance to. She’s going to visit again next summer and,” here, Barbara blushed, “I’ve offered to let her stay here for a week. That way you kids can get to know her better, maybe take her down to the beach -”

 

“Pip pip pip -”

 

“Todavía soy tu madre, escuincle, a mi no me dices eso.”

 

“Sorry Mami. It’s just - I think it’s nice is all. And I think it’s more for your benefit than ours that you’re letting her stay over, BUT that’s all I’m going to say.”

 

“Good.”

 

“For now.”

 

“Lance.”

 

“Te quiero mucho.”

 

Barbara huffed. “Yo tambien, chamaco.”

 

“...Mami?”

 

“Si, mijo?”

 

“You won’t forget ‘Sexy Back,’ right? No matter how many new memories you make?”

 

His mother shook her head at him. “No, Lance, claro que no. I will always remember ‘Sexy Back.’ Nothing can change that. What’s more, I’ll probably find a way to weave it into some of the new memories I make. You don’t forget something that special so easily.”

 

Lance nodded, eyes starting to water. “I know. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

 

Barbara blinked back tears. God, Lance got all his overabundance of emotion from her. Leandro would agree, she knew. She inhaled shakily.

 

“A ver, mira. Let’s sing it. Right now. It’s my promise to you that I will never forget the song, and most definitely not your father.”

 

“Whaaat? Of course I know you’ll never forget Papi, don’t be silly.” His protest was thoroughly unconvincing. Neither of them mentioned it.

 

“So? Sing it with me?”

 

“Hum the weird parts?”

 

“The sex parts?”

 

“ _ Mami _ !”

 

She snickered childishly. “Yes, Lance, as always, we will hum the ‘weird’ parts.”

 

“Ok.”

 

They started singing, and Marco, Veronica, and Luis, who were listening in from the living room, began to hum softly along. 

 

_______________

 

Lance shimmied and wiggled around the castleship kitchen, humming and mumbling lyrics alternately as he sipped at his space juice/caprisun/gatorade. As soon as he was done with the pouch contents, he threw it into the trash receptacle and started belting out the song he had been quietly singing.

 

“GET YOUR SEXY ON, GO ‘HEAD BE GONE WITH IT, GET YOUR SEXY ON, GO ‘HEAD BE GONE WITH IT, GET YOUR SEXY ON, GO ‘HEAD BE GONE WITH IT, GET YOUR SEXY OOOOOOOOONNN...GET YOUR SEXY ON. WHOO - OOH OOH OOH -”

 

He spun a few times before stopping, now facing the counter. What, or rather  _ who _ , he saw sitting on it made him let out a high-pitched scream. The culprit, aka Keith, raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

 

“Dude! Mullet! When did you get in here?! And why didn’t you say anything?!” He flailed his arms around for emphasis.

 

Keith, conversely, crossed his arms and said flatly, “Didn’t realize I was supposed to. You looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

 

“Well duh, yeah I was having a good time, but it’s kinda rude not to make your presence known, Keith. Jesus Christ on a cracker jack, you almost gave me a heart attack!”

 

“If only we were so lucky.”

 

“Shut up, Mullet.”

 

Silence grew in the room. Keith slouched on the counter and stared at Lance, while Lance fidgeted uncomfortably before walking over and hopping up next to him. They both stared straight ahead.

 

A few more minutes passed. Finally, Keith said, “What? No more show?”

 

He turned towards the other boy.

 

Lance twisted his mouth, an ugly feeling rising in his chest. “Shut up, ok?”

 

The angry tone made Keith blink. He turned his head back to the wall and muttered, “Sorry, calm down.”

 

Lance let out a harsh bark of laughter. “ _ Calm down _ ? You want me to... _ calm down _ . Ok, sure Your Highness, I’ll do whatever you say.”

 

Keith frowned. “I didn’t mean it like that and you know it. I just don’t know what I did. I’ll just leave you alone; keep sulking or whatever; I don’t care.”

 

He hopped off the counter and was headed towards the doorway before he was stopped by Lance saying, “Wait.”

 

“What?” He asked without turning back around.

 

Lance heaved a big sigh. “Sorry ok? I know you weren’t being mean. It’s just a...sore point. Come sit back down.”

 

Keith huffed, but did as he was told.

 

Lance sighed again. “Do you know the song I was singing?”

 

Keith nodded, before realizing that Lance had his eyes downcast, face uncharacteristically serious.

 

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s that one song about bringing sexy back and whips and stuff, right?”

 

Lance chuckled. “Yeah. It’s literally called ‘Sexy Back.’ It’s my favorite song.”

 

Keith stayed silent, but when it became clear Lance wasn’t going to say anything more on the subject, he said, “Well...it’s a good song.”

 

This time Lance laughed. “It is. It really, really is.” He hesitated. “Do you uh, know any of it?”

 

He was expecting a shake of the head. What he got was Keith softly singing “Dirty baaaabe, you see these shackles baby I'm your slaaaave...”

 

His mouth dropped open, and Keith caught his eye and smirked. Lance, after taking a moment to recover, smirked back.

 

“Well, well, well, aren’t we full of surprises?”

 

Two minutes later, the other five people (plus five mice) residing on the ship made their way into the dining room. Hunk and Coran went to the kitchen to start preparing that day’s experiment with food goo, but stopped at the doorway. They stared.

 

The others, noticing this, went over curiously. What they saw in the kitchen made them stare as well.

 

“I’M BRINGIN’ SEXY BACK, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS WATCH HOW I ATTACK,” Lance bellowed.

 

“IF THAT’S YOUR GIRL BETTER WATCH YOUR BACK, CAUSE SHE’LL BURN IT UP FOR ME AND THAT’S A FACT,” Keith shouted back.

 

The two danced around, holding their fists up to their mouths like microphones as they continued their back and forth singing.

 

“Hunk.  _ Hunk _ . He got to Keith. I can’t believe this.” Hunk simply nodded at Pidge’s words, still gaping too much to say anything.

 

Shiro snorted. “Maybe it was the other way around. Keith went through a  _ phase _ .”

 

While they all processed the gravity of these words, Keith and Lance had finished their little number, and were now high fiving each other giddily. They glanced at the crowd of people in the doorway, but paid no heed to them, choosing instead to lean against the counter as they continued to congratulate each other playfully.

 

“What is going on?” Allura asked.

 

Lance looked over at her and winked. “Don’t worry, princess, it’s nothing to get jealous over.”

 

Allura and Pidge rolled their eyes, while the rest of the team sighed and smiled indulgently.

 

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

 

Lance shot a quick grin at Keith, who returned the gesture. “Oh...just a little bonding. Making new memories. That’s all.”

 

BONUS:

 

Haggar looked through her clone’s eyes at the scene before her. She felt only one expression could adequately describe what she felt in that moment, an expression she had acquired from the multiple clones of The Champion.

 

“What the fuck.”

**Author's Note:**

> Lol Haggar saying "What the fuck" is my new favorite thing.
> 
> And I don't know if any of you will care, but on the off chance that you do, yes, I am going to write a fic about Leandro and Barbara's second date.


End file.
